Sealing rings of this type and a seal assembly of this type comprising such a sealing ring are generally known in the art. The sealing ring can be embodied as a radial shaft sealing ring, wherein the sealing lip faces the medium to be sealed in an axial direction. The buffer seal faces the surrounding environment in an axial direction. The problem addressed by the buffer seal is that of preventing contaminants from the environment from penetrating to the sealing lip. This results in better performance properties of the sealing ring over a longer service life.